Press Release

Imperial College engineer awarded prestigous scholarship

November 2007

A talented engineer has been awarded a prestigious scholarship to study for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at the elite Columbia University in New York City. Daniel Schneider, who graduated from Imperial College, is one of nine talented young engineers who will benefit from more than £290,000 in funding awarded by the Royal Academy of Engineering on behalf of the Sainsbury Management Fellows.

The Sainsbury Management Fellowship Society (SMF) was set up by Lord Sainsbury to help the country’s top engineering graduates acquire the skills that will take them into the boardroom of Britain’s blue chip companies or set up enterprises that will boost the UK economy.

Daniel, who has been working in the aerospace industry since completing a MEng Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College in 2003, commented:

“An MBA is an incredibly expensive course and the cost of tuition and living expenses per year can be a daunting prospect. While a lot of people from the banking and finance sectors are sponsored to study for MBAs this isn't as common in engineering. The SMF bursary provides one year's worth of tuition at a top business school and the award made it far easier for me to justify the remaining expense.

“The next forty or so years look like they are going to be an incredibly exciting time for the aerospace community. Commercial spaceflight is becoming a reality, new aircraft will emerge using revolutionary technology, and man may have set foot on Mars by the end of my career. The MBA will allow me to advance my career and to be in a position where I can influence some of those events. This would not be possible without the business skills that a MBA teaches.”

Congratulating Daniel on his achievement, Dan Mutadich, President of the SMF, commented:

“Studying for an MBA at one of the world’s top business schools can cost as much as £50,000 in total, so it is our pleasure to be able to assist talented engineers such as Daniel with this huge expense. This competitive award offers high potential individuals the opportunity to complement their engineering qualifications with business skills that will open up exciting new opportunities in the business world.

“Not only will Daniel have the qualifications to apply for senior management posts when he completes his MBA successfully, he will also join a network of over 220 SMFs, providing him with excellent contacts and resources which he can draw on in his future career. Many of these SMFs have gone on to achieve high profile success, either as business leaders or having set-up their own companies, demonstrating the value in helping develop engineers as leaders as the UK faces increasing global competition.”

Daniel is aiming to graduate from Columbia in May 2009. On completion of his MBA, he hopes to return to the aerospace industry and join a US based organisation which will give him a better understanding of working practices in US engineering, supplementing his experience of European industry.

For information on applying for a SMF scholarship, visit www.smf.org.uk.

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